Psychotherapy
Bendigo & Melbourne Psychotherapy for Adults, Adolescents, Children, Infants and their Parents
Services
Rosalie Birkin offers a range of psychotherapeutic services for individuals of all ages, as well as professional development and training opportunities for professionals.
She provides clinical assessments, parent infant psychotherapy, individual therapy for children, adolescents and adults, as well as parent counselling and family therapy.
Rosalie offers professional development as well as supervision and training opportunities to those in the health and welfare sectors. She also provides consultation to groups and organisations.
Clinical assessment of infants, children, adolescents
Parent Infant Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy for children and adolescents
Parent Therapy
Psychotherapy for adults
Groups for children, infants and parents
Infant Observation
Clinical Supervision
Supervision Groups
Professional Reading Groups
Seminar Series
Consultation to Professionals
Parent Infant Psychotherapy
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Parent‐infant psychotherapy is a clinical intervention that involves meeting with parent/s and infant together and aims to address concerns and anxieties, improve parent‐infant relationships, strengthen bonding and attachment, and promote infant development. It may be a short term intervention involving just a few sessions, or it may involve regular scheduled sessions over many months. It often involves the therapist and/or parent(s) playing and engaging with the infant or toddler in the clinical sessions. This often means playing together on the floor.
Psychotherapy for children and adolescents
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Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy is a therapeutic intervention that aims to look beneath the surface when there are intense emotions, problem behaviours and difficulties in relationships. It aims to help children, adolescents and their families better understand themselves and their difficulties. Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists are trained to understand unconscious communications that may be expressed verbally or non verbally through play and behaviour. Sessions may involve predominately play or talking depending on what works best for the young person. As Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists come to better understand what might be being communicated unconsciously, they can put this into words for the young person which often brings relief and often helps them to express themselves in less troubling ways. It can help with reducing anxiety and increasing capacity to make and maintain healthier relationships. Therapy can be short term or long term. It may involve meeting with parents and child together, but mostly it involves meeting with the young person individually on a regular basis over several months or years. The frequency of sessions is usually once or twice each week. Parents are often seen at regular intervals throughout the period of psychotherapy with the young person.
Clinical Assessment of Infants, Children, Adolescents
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Prior to engaging in any therapy involving a young person, a clinical assessment needs to be completed. The clinical assessment may involve meeting with the parents, meeting with the family and meeting with the young person separately. The assessment process may need three or so sessions to complete, and often involves gathering information about the young person’s early development and relationships as well as gathering information about parents’ families of origin. The aim of a clinical assessment is to come to an understanding of why the young person is presenting at this time with the current concerns. This understanding will guide decisions about how to best address the difficulties and is discussed with parents before making decisions about how to proceed.
Parent Therapy
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Parenting therapy is a way of working clinically with parents to help them address difficulties in the parenting of their child. The frequency of sessions will depend on needs and circumstances. This type of therapy helps parents to better understand why difficulties emerge when they do and helps them to address and manage those difficulties. A parent’s own experience of being parented can have a major influence on how they parent and relate to their own children. Exploration of this and other influences can assist parents to better understand their child and their child’s behaviour, which in turn can help parents to discover and consider more helpful ways to manage concerning behaviours.
Psychotherapy for Adults
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Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy is a form of clinical practice that is based on psychoanalytic theory and principles. It focusses on increasing self understanding and may bring relief from anxiety, improve relationships, and facilitate the expression of thoughts and feelings in less troubling ways. The person is asked to speak as freely as they can in sessions, about whatever is on their mind. The psychotherapist engages with the patient about whatever comes up, while also trying to understand any unconscious communications that may enhance understanding of what may be underlying anxieties and concerns. The retelling of dreams for example, can be helpful in better understanding what might otherwise remain unconscious. Understanding aspects of the relationship between psychotherapist and patient may also help bring into focus unconscious thoughts and feelings that may relate to underlying emotional conflicts, and provide a better understanding of current and past relationships.
Some people find it helpful to lie on the couch with the therapist sitting in a chair behind them, while others prefer to sit facing opposite the therapist. Psychotherapy may also be online via video conferencing or may be on the telephone. The frequency of sessions is usually once or twice a week, but some find it helpful to come more frequently. Psychotherapy may be short term or long term depending on needs and circumstances. Long term psychotherapy may extend over a number of years.
My work is informed by the writings and practices of notable psychoanalysts of the past including Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein, Wilfred Bion and Donald Winnicott, as well being informed by many contemporary psychoanalysts and psychotherapists.
Supervision Groups
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Meeting in a group for supervision has the advantages of a lower fee per person per session than the fee for individual supervision. It also has the advantage of hearing other’s clinical work and being able to have the opportunity to think about that within the group. Supervision groups can be online or in person depending on the needs of the supervisees.
Groups for Children, Infants, and Parents
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From time to time parent infant groups and children’s play therapy groups are offered.
Infant Observation
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Infant Observation is a process involving observing a baby from soon after birth to the time they are either 12 months of age or 2 years old. It involves hour long visits to the baby’s home each week to observe the infant, and seeing first hand an infant’s psychological and physical development. It provides an opportunity to be able to follow their developing relationships with parents, siblings and others who may play an important role in their early life. It offers the possibility for the observer to discover the process of infant development first hand rather than reading about descriptions and theories of infant development in books. It also presents the opportunity to develop one’s capacity to experience primitive anxieties and processes in another, and to familiarise oneself with the the turbulence families can experience with the arrival of a new baby.
Infant Observation is considered an important part of psychotherapy training because it can enhance the observer’s capacity to identify, be receptive to and better manage intense feelings and anxieties, and to be able to observe and reflect on what they notice before acting; to be receptive to what is before them, to be able be patient and to tolerate not knowing exactly what is happening for the other, while being interested and curious about that. These are considered important skills for a psychotherapist.
Opportunities for infant observation programs are made available from time to time, and enquiries are welcomed. Please click here for details of the next program.
Seminar Series
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From time to time, seminar series are offered that focus on a particular topic. It might be about psychoanalytic psychotherapy practice, or psychoanalytic theories or some other aspect of clinical work. The seminars may be scheduled weekly or fortnightly. There are usually 5 or 10 seminars in each series. Seminar series can be online or in person depending on the needs and circumstances of those involved. Please click here and here for details of the Seminar Series proposed in 2025.
Consultation to Professionals
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Consultation can be provided to a professional or group of professionals where discussion and thinking together about a work issue can occur. The work issue maybe related to work practices, group dynamics or the psychological health of others in the professional’s care or realm of responsibility. It does not focus on developing or enhancing clinical skills in the way supervision can provide, but more about deepening understanding of the psychodynamic understanding of the issues presented, so that the professional/s can hopefully make more informed decisions in their work.
Clinical Supervision
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Clinical supervision involves a clinician meeting with another to discuss their clinical work, with the aim of enhancing their knowledge of the underpinnings of the work and developing their skills in clinical practice. This can happen on an individual basis or in a group setting. Often clinicians will make a regular time in the week to meet for supervision on a regular basis, however once off supervision sessions can also be arranged. Supervision can be online or in person depending on the needs of the supervisee.
Professional Reading Groups
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Reading groups usually focus on the work of a particular psychotherapist or psychoanalyst, or on a specific topic or book that is of interest to those within the group. There is an expectation that the reading is undertaken prior to each meeting and then the material discussed together in the group. Meetings may be scheduled weekly, fortnightly or monthly according to the group’s needs and circumstances. Depending on the focus of the group, clinical material may be discussed to highlight or better understand what has been read. Reading groups can be online or in person depending on the needs and circumstances of those involved.
Making an Appointment
Appointments can be made without the need for a referral from a General Practitioner.
A Mental Health Plan is not required to claim Medicare rebates. Medicare rebates apply to fees for all sessions throughout the year, and there is no specified limit on the number of sessions.
Please complete this online form with your enquiry.